The Development of Robotic-Assisted Surgery

Robotic Assisted SurgeryThe past two decades have witnessed a revolutionary transition in surgical technique and technology. Incredible progress has been made in lessening the risk of surgery and improving long-term results. Careful preoperative evaluation, incredible technologic advances, and careful postoperative care have made surgery today safer than ever.

Minimally Invasive Surgery

Approximately 20 years ago, surgeons began practicing a new approach to performing surgery - an approach that came to be known as minimally invasive surgery, or MIS. During this era, tiny cameras in instruments called laparoscopes or thoracoscopes were introduced. These visual aids could be inserted into the patient's body through tiny incisions called ports. This allowed certain operations to be performed through much smaller incisions.

As surgeons gained expertise in performing certain operations through smaller incisions, a new area of surgical specialization was realized: minimally invasive surgery.

Minimally invasive surgeons have a specialized outlook and approach to surgical diseases and aim to provide equivalent long term results with less pain, blood loss, and recovery time. Minimally invasive surgeons typically undergo additional training to provide the skills necessary to provide traditional operations in addition to minimally invasive surgery.

Patient-Driven Demand

Robotic Assisted SurgeryIntuitive Surgical's advances in minimally invasive surgery have received continual support not only from the medical community, but also from patients and their families. The patient benefits of MIS — including faster recovery time, less blood loss and less scaring — have helped drive demand for robotic procedures.